Cautions before you make this: 1) You will be ruined for takeout beef and broccoli forever. 2) Please use your heaviest, most heat-conductive pot or deep-ish pan for this. Please. I use an enameled dutch oven (like this one; someday I'll have a Le Creuset...). Holding high heat is important for stir frying, but really the right pan also to makes the whole process go quickly. 3) Prep! get all the chopping and all of the ingredients ready before you start. With the right prep and the right pan, this whole thing takes about 15 minutes to make. I've tried to write the recipe with this in mind.
Note that if you don't already shop in the Asian section of your grocery store, you should! That's where you'll find good oyster sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, and the best chili garlic sauce. Oh, and the jasmine rice you should serve this with.
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House Special Beef and Broccoli
This sauce is super forgiving. Add or reduce things to tase, the idea is really to end up with around 2/3 c. of stuff with some cornstarch in it.
5-6 Tbsp. oyster sauce
2 Tbsp. beef or chicken broth (a bit of beef base with 2 T of water...or just 2 T of water)
1 Tbsp. dry sherry (rice vinegar is okay, too)
1 Tbsp. of brown sugar
1 Tbsp. + hoisin sauce (I don't measure and just add a nice dollop)
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. cornstarch
optional-add-ins-that-you-should-really try: 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. of chili garlic sauce, ½ tsp. of coriander and/or cumin, a few shakes of red pepper flakes, extra powdered ginger.
Mix sauce ingredients in a liquid measuring cup and set aside.
For the Stir Fry
1-1 and ½ pound flank steak, trimmed and sliced against the grain into 1/8-1/4-inch strips
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced (about 3 Tbsp.?)
1 Tbsp. + grated fresh ginger (I just eyeball this. There can't be too much. And pre-minced works fine!)
1 and ½ tsp. vegetable oil
1-1 and ½ pounds of broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces. Feel free to buy pre-cut!
1/3 c. water
1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 small yellow or white onion, sliced into 1/4-inch half moons
Extra vegetable oil for frying
Combine sliced beef and soy sauce and marinate for at least 10 minutes while you prep the rest of the recipe. Mix the garlic, ginger, and oil in a small dish and set aside. Prep the veggies.
Heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in your pan over high heat until it shimmers. Add half the beef in a single layer (it should sizzle a lot!). Don't stir for at least a minute, letting the beef start to brown. Then stir and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Beef should get toasty edges and lose most of its pink. Then remove to a plate and repeat with second (or third if you need more room in the pan) batch of beef.
Add another teaspoon or so of oil to your now-empty pan and add broccoli. Stir fry for about a minute, then add water to the pan, cover it, and reduce to heat to medium. Cook/steam broccoli until somewhat tender (2-5 minutes). I just test with a fork until it feels good to me. This is totally a matter of taste. The broccoli will cook a bit more later, so no need to overdo it here. Remove broccoli from the pan (I throw it right with the beef).
Add another teaspoon or so of oil to the pan, raise heat to high, and add onion and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until they start to get soft and spotty brown. 3-5 minutes. Push the veggies to the sides of the pan and throw the ginger-garlic mixture in the middle. It will smell amazing. Mash it around for 30 seconds and then mix with the onions and peppers.
Add the beef, broccoli, and any juices back to the pan and combine with veggies. Finally, add the sauce blend from above and stir until the sauce coats everything, boils a bit, and thickens. 1 minute or so. Serve over rice. Inhale.
Adapted over time from the Cook's Illustrated All-Time Best Asian Recipes, "Stir-fried Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce."
